Friday Favourites 14th - 27th October 2017.
FF27.10.2017
Well holy hell it's been a busy week. After Sunday's post about 'you're not going to see as much content from me' I took it literally and didn't post again till today.
It's all been a bit manic in the Craddock/Rees household this past month with 4 sets of guests staying, my birthday, seeing friends, normal life, the busiest time for cider making and selling and the busiest time for my own business so I haven't had much time to sit down and breathe let alone blog.
And it was great for the most part knowing I'd put that post in place saying look there's going to be less posts per week on the blog but by the end of the week I was feeling itchy to get back into it. And also a bit of blogger guilt cos lol if we don't put pressure on ourselves to get content out are we even really bloggers?
That being said I have my November blog schedule sorted and it's less than normal but content I'm excited to create and in amongst all the busy and now the run down state I'm currently residing in, I managed to find you some favourites of the past fortnight.
1. Productive Saturday at home.
I now have plans, whether that be social stuff or work stuff, every weekend between now and the new year. But a fortnight ago I had a free Saturday for once in a blue moon and I made it the most productive day ever. I can't even remember now what I did, I listed it all on my Insta stories and got a LOT of messages like bloody hell can I have some of your motivation. I know it included painting our bathroom, cleaning the whole house, changing the beds, doing something like 4 loads of laundry and drying them all, some work and making a pasta bake in the evening. Sometimes (like right now) I need a quiet weekend of nothing but knowing that was my last weekend with no plans meant I really ramped up to get everything done before life got busy and it made me feel really motivated and productive.
2. New colour in the bathroom.
So I mentioned above I painted our bathroom (2 coats in a day yass boss) and I am way happier with it than I was before. We never intended to paint the bathroom when we moved in as we kept the work down to what was essential but after a flood earlier in the year which resulted in a collapsed ceiling, the builders fixed the hole and there was a bunch of bare plaster showing so we thought we'd do it after all. I used leftover paint from our living room not really paying attention to what it was but just conscious I was saving a fortune not getting new paint and it was fine for the summer months. But now it's colder outside than it is indoors and condensation has been creeping it's way into the bathroom the paint reacted to the water in a less than happy sense and uhm, dripped all the way down the walls. So with guests here the following week I went to B&Q for some proper bathroom paint and repainted it all (which touch wood is holding) and I way prefer the whole look of it! The tiles in the bathroom are what was here originally and they've got a patterned border around it and the new paint, a sort of blue toned grey, works way better. Soz for the shit photo.
3. Margam Park.
The week before last my Dad had a week off work so we decided to make the most of the extra pair of hands and take my niece on some longer car journeys for days out. On Monday 16th we went to Margam Park which is about 40 minutes away from my house and it was one of them perfect Autumn days - not too cold but crisp and sunny and we had such a good time. All the leaves were falling off the trees, everything was burnt orange, she had a great time and we fed the ducks who were pretty pleased with themselves too.
4. National Botanic Gardens of Wales.
On my actual birthday I decided I wanted to spend the day out with my new camera so I drove me and Joss down to the National Botanic Gardens of Wales in Carmarthenshire - only to find I didn't have a memory card and had to take all my photos on my phone........ My birthday was a funny old affair this year so to get an hour away from home in one of my fav places that I haven't visited since I was a kid was delightful. Again it was super sunny and we had a lovely afternoon wandering around and snapping everything (my favourite naturally being the giant dome cos lord knows I like a hot house).
5. Surprise mail.
I had some absolute corkers for birthday cards this year (shout out to the drama llama and Snoop Dog - you know who you are) but undoubtedly the winner for the best card 2017 was Mel. Firstly this turned up a few days before my birthday and her handwriting looked SO identical to someone else's I genuinely didn't know it was from her and secondly the envelope was full of sequins. I was not only made up she sent me a surprise card (and like how the eff did she get my address) can we please just appreciate the card? One for the scrapbook for sure.
6. Knitted cacti.
Following the card that made me laugh the most to the present that made me laugh the most? My brother's fiancée is a top present buyer and always knows what to get me so when I opened not one, but two knitted cacti I just died. My obsession for cacti, both fake and real, is less than low key and like my brother said "what did you type in to google to find those?" My niece named them Pippy and Kiki respectively and my brother said "I don't know what I hate more, that you bought them or that she genuinely loves them". They have taken pride of place in my living room where they can't accidentally be watered.
7. New camera.
I don't have a photo of my new camera so here's a photo I took of Mildred using it. I think I mentioned this briefly in a Friday favs a few weeks back but I knew for my birthday I wanted to invest in a DSLR but not having hundreds of pounds in my budget I started asking my top blogging gals their opinions for second hand ones. Cue Megan giving me the low down on her old DSLR, which she happened to want to sell and bish bash bosh I am now the proud owner of her old Sony which I LOVE. I have only had it just over a week but I found it so much easier to get the results I want when it comes to taking flatlays and images for my business particularly I know I made the right move. Joss and his sister clubbed together to buy me a 45mm lens too so I've been having a right old gass playing about with it this week.
8. Llanelli WFW.
The day after my birthday (which I spent in West Wales), my parents and I took my niece to.......West Wales. We wanted to take her to Llanelli Wildfowl and Wetlands trust all year but finally got the chance on a rainy Wednesday last week. Being a two year old who has a penchant for play areas we didn't get much further than the first duck pond so we're going to go back next spring when the ducklings are born but she bloody loved it. She had the bags of food and didn't bat an eyelid when the geese game to eat it out of her hand - she is much braver than I was at her age.
9. Saturday nights on the town.
I mean I was home by midnight but hey, this gal doesn't go out on a Saturday much anymore. So admittedly this photo was taken on Sunday when we made fajitas but I didn't take a single snap with my pals the night before so you'll just have to cope with it. My school friends are dotted all over the UK from Edinburgh to Cornwall so when they're home we try and make the most of it. We went out to a new pizza place in town followed by the pub and it was just pot luck more than one of them was home on the same weekend and it was soooooo good to have a big catch up amidst Storm Brian.
10. House guests.
This week ended a run of guests in our house all the way through October and as tired as I am now it's done I loved having them. The last set was actually my Mum who's never stayed here before, and her bestie and it was SO good to catch up over multiple cups of tea and welsh cakes. They were only here 3 days but it ran like clockwork, I got the chance to make them a beef stew (cooking for my Mum is something I never get to do either) and the house seemed full. I also got given a vase and roses for my troubles so along with my birthday flowers my house is feeling very fresh.
11. Those Primark pjs.
Yasss the ones every blogger and their dog got gifted earlier on this Autumn - I got given the Harry Potter pj set for my birthday and I have been wearing them for the first time this week. The quality is worth the slightly hiked price tag imo because they are SO soft and don't feel like they'll wear through after the first wash. They're also pretty thick material so despite being a shorts and t shirt set they're find for colder temperatures, especially if like me you hate being boiling in bed. In fact I love them so much they *might* be in contention for my on Christmas day pj set.
12. Dyffryn Gardens.
When my Mum and her friend were staying we were also babysitting my niece so we met up with another of my Mum's pals and went to our favourite local haunt; National Trust property Dyffryn Gardens. My Mum and her friends wanted to make the most of the time they had so they went wandering off into the gardens and I took my niece on a much slower pace by myself. I don't actually get hour on end with her alone all that often so it was a joy to spend some QT with her and she looked at me like I was the Queen when she realised how prepared I was with a rucksack full of warm clothes, her hat and her Quavers. My only grumble was we missed the hot house (my favourite bit) because we were in the play area and appaz they had an amazing pumpkin display but I got a good Insta shot with these at the entrance anyway.
13. New jumpers.
Also for my birthday I had 4 new wooly jumpers (can you tell my family and friends know me well?) and I have been trying them out this week. Three are from Primark and the fourth Joss' Mum knitted me but they're all monochrome (again, know me well) and all oversized (triple points) and sooooo soft and I can just tell they're going to be my staple attire this Autumn.
14. Christmas range 2017.
And last but not least - I have officially launched my 2017 Christmas range! Christmas starts in about August for small creative businesses and after weeks of finalising my designs and sending them to print my cards are back in my hands and on my Etsy. I'm so happy with this years range and I hope you loved them as much as I do!
Now onto compiling my own Christmas list no?
